Friday, April 16, 2010

Did you know Alaska is the largest state in the nation – twice the size of Texas? It contains twenty-nine volcanos, 100,000 glaciers, 33,904 miles of coastline and its capital, Juneau, can only be reached by air or sea. Alaska has the tallest peak in North America and has the eastern, western, northern most points in the U.S. Everything about the 49th state, once called “Seward’s Folly,” is larger than life and everyone I know who’s been there talks about its majestic beauty in capital letters and exclamation points.

In Kay Stockham’s lyrical ode to the Alaskan wilderness, “She’s the One,” Alexandra Tulane is far from her Tennessee home – and that’s the way she likes it. Her photography work is a good disguise for her secret life as a travel writer, and she’s well prepared for anything Alaska has to offer. What she’s not prepared for is Dylan Bower, a handsome bush pilot hiding behind a Grizzly Adams-type beard; a guy whose wounds make him distrust everything about her. Sparks fly whenever they’re together, but Dylan won’t leave his solitary home and Alex can’t stay.

Dylan’s heart has been encased in ice until Alex’s warmth begins to thaw him, but he can’t let his feelings guide him. Others rely on Dylan – his father is recovering from a heart attack and his young son, Colt, is fragile and withdrawn. He has his own reasons for escaping from the world, reasons he’s not ready to share, no matter how strongly Alex tempts him.

Kay Stockham will have you grinning before the end of page one, chuckling as her heroine later “pokes the bear,” and by the time you’re halfway through the book you’ll be planning an Alaskan vacation. “She’s the One” is a love affair on two levels – it’s a romance between a self-sufficient heroine with wanderlust and an outdoorsman hero who gives so much he doesn’t know how to take what he wants. But it’s also a love affair with a simple way of life that’s lost to most of us. If you read for escape, you’ll get double your money when you --

Buy the Book!

What is it about those huntin’ and fishin’ outdoorsmen that appeals to us, even though they seem able to survive perfectly well without women in their life? Or is that the attraction – the challenge they offer in both romance and real life?___

17 comments:

I think it is the challenge they offer us in both romance and real life. It makes you want to grasp a hold of that wildness inside of them and hang on for the ride!!! They have that unbridled passion, one with nature thing going on that attracts me and makes me want to spend all night in front of a fire with them...outdoors, under the moonlight.

Becke, first great column. Now the attraction for me for wilderness romance is the wilderness itself. It's always drawn me even though I don't like to camp or float but I would love to live in a wilderness setting to be able to look out every morning and see nothing but the bounties of mother earth.And wilderness guys, well I've always had a softspot for them. they seem to be more courteous to ladies and treat them more like an equal in novels. And that appeals to my feminist side.Deb

"It makes you want to grasp a hold of that wildness inside of them and hang on for the ride!!!"

Kara - that's brilliant!

Debbie - I'm like you, I'm not much for camping. My first experience of it was at a camp in northern Wisconsin when I was 16 and working at a camp for disadvantaged children (some were the same age as I was, which was weird).

I'll never forget when we kayaked across the lake -- two married counselors and I were responsible for a group of 11 and 12 year old boys. There was a thunderstorm in the night and only the counselors had a tent - the rest of us were roughing it.

I went to wake up the counselors, and they weren't there!! They figured we were safely sleeping and went into town, I guess. The kids and I hiked back to the cabins, the looooong way around the lake, in the rain. Kind of put me off the whole experience!

On the other hand, I really love watching the sun come up over the water. There really is something magical about that.

Love the question about wilderness guys, Becke. I'm not a wilderness type gal but I could so see myself hanging out with Dylan. ;) And how awful that the counselors left you there !!! I hope they weren't used as counselors again. That was just wrong! The mother in me is furious, imagining my child out without an adult etc.

Thanks so much for the blog and review of She's the One. So glad you enjoyed it!

Maybe it's that wilderness men are so capable in an old-fashioned way - handling anything that comes along, fixing anything that breaks, etc. We're so dependent on technology that this independence is refreshing and comforting.

Becke, I'm going to pass on reading your review right now as I'm in the middle of writing a blog that spotlights Kay's books, including She's the One. But I'll come back to it once my writing is finished!

Kay is one of my favorite writers. She writes with humor and a depth of emotion that has me eagerly anticipating every release. I'm sorry to say good-bye to the Tulanes but excited to welcome whatever she has in store for us next!

Becke, great review. This book sounds so good, I'll be scoping out Kay's books. I think a man who can handle himself in the wilderness (hunting, fishing, etc.) speaks to our collective prehistoric memory -- when men HAD to know how to hunt. Or, you know, we just like the lumberjack shirts.

Personally, I like a man who can change my oil and write me a love song...but that's just me.

Oh Becke - Another book for my TBR pile ! The review sounds great. I'm not an outdoorsy girl any more - I had my fill as a kid (sleep-away camp every summer). I now say that if a lady doesn't come in every day and make the bed, I'm not going!! However, I'm never one to turn down a very capable (and HOT) guy. Maybe he'll make the bed !!!!